Komen reverses stance on funding cut to Planned Parenthood

Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) announced on Friday that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation would restore funding to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings. The announcement comes after a nationwide firestorm of criticism erupted over Komen’s announcement this week that it would cut funding to Planned Parenthood because the organization was “under investigation.”

Lautenberg said he spoke by telephone with Nancy Brinker, founder and CEO of the Komen Foundation. He said that during the call he confirmed that the Komen Foundation will restore its funding to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings and that Komen will clarify its policy to ensure that only organizations found guilty in a criminal investigation would be ineligible for funding.

“With these changes to their policy, Susan G. Komen for the Cure is depoliticizing its grant-making process and refocusing itself back on its core mission: saving women’s lives. The Komen Foundation is too critical to the fight against breast cancer to give up on, and I hope to see all women’s health groups put politics aside and again work together on their shared missions,” Lautenberg said in a statement. “I am pleased that critical funding will be allowed to flow from the Komen Foundation to Planned Parenthood and to any organization that helps further the fight against breast cancer.”

Earlier in the week, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican, announced he would match new donations to Planned Parenthood up to $250,000 in an effort to replace the lost Komen funding. His offer sparked a spate of giving by individuals across the country.

In addition, many people reportedly told the Komen Foundation that they would no longer donate to Komen.

Yesterday, Lautenberg and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) led a group of 26 senators who called on Brinker to reconsider her organization’s decision to stop giving Planned Parenthood grants to fund breast cancer screenings, the senator’s office said in a statement.

Komen pulled the funding earlier this week on the grounds that Planned Parenthood was under investigation by by a U.S. senator from Florida who wants to look into the organization because he is opposed to abortions. It was not a criminal investigation.

Planned Parenthood says 3 percent of the medical services it provides are abortions. It is the largest single abortion provider in the U.S., which has made it a target of anti-choice groups. However, no federal money goes toward abortion services.

Planned Parenthood provides health care and cancer screenings for millions of poor men and women who do not have access to any other health care.

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